Aside from the Black Widow prequel or the Disney+ MCU shows, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first official entry into Phase Four. More notably, it is Marvel Studio’s first step into the new world post Avengers: Endgame. Shang-Chi carries a lot of weight on its shoulders both in terms of satisfying fans who could be feeling hero fatigue after a decade of content, and in terms of launching a new status quo, or a new foundation, for the future of the MCU. Being a brand-new property to the cinema, how will they fit Shang-Chi into the MCU anyway?
Shang-Chi is scheduled for imminent release in theatres and is not receiving premiere access for Disney+. It will be the first major MCU movie releasing in theatres since the COVID-19 pandemic tipped the table over. The movie stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi. Liu is a Chinese Canadian actor best known for his role in TV's Kim’s Convenience. Alongside Liu is comedian Awkwafina, masters Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung, and the curious inclusion of Benedict Wong as Doctor Strange’s buddy Wong. Could that imply an association? Shang-Chi leads the slate for Marvel’s Phase Four, so does it also set the tone for what fans should expect from the new phase? Can the MCU successfully expand to fit all this new stuff? Or will it burst at the seams and become too unwieldy?
What’s Old Is New Again
How will Marvel Studios graft a whole new puzzle piece onto an already existing dynamo franchise? Surprisingly, Shang-Chi has been baked into the MCU since the very beginning. Whether by intention or by serendipity, the first movie of Phase Four can directly trace its scaffolding all the way back to the first movie of Phase One, 2008’s Iron Man. The Ten Rings terrorist group were the villains who put Tony Stark in a cave prison and tried to force him to create a missile when he instead created the first Iron Man suit of armor.
In Shang-Chi Legend of the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi’s father Wenwu (as the Mandarin) is the leader of that terrorist organization. It is a likelier chance that the use of the Ten Rings back then was just as a throw-away name for an enemy faction to oppose Iron Man. The fact that they are now so prominent thirteen years later speaks volumes to the ongoing success of the MCU experiment. If the Ten Rings had not captured Tony Stark in Afghanistan, there would be no Iron Man. This movie finally spotlights the group behind the creation of Iron Man. It would be interesting to see if they acknowledge their role in all of that.
Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting
Just as Thor expanded the minds of Phase One viewers into mythology, and how Guardians of the Galaxy established the cosmic in Phase Two, or how Doctor Strange expanded into the realm of magic in Phase Three, so to must Shang-Chi inject martial arts into the MCU in Phase Four. Martial arts combat has been used throughout the MCU in various ways but never has there been a movie in the specific genre. Shang-Chi has the opportunity to be the first true kung fu action movie for Marvel. The Ten Rings were portrayed as guerilla fighters in the desert of Afghanistan in the first Iron Man but here are shown to be more like ninjas and skilled fighters.
In Iron Man 3 the Mandarin was a flimsy character actor unable to help himself to booze or drugs or women. Here, he is the fierce and frightening leader of the enormous criminal organization. It should be a brand-new experience for Marvel fans to see and feel the kinetic action of kung fu combat through the lens of a superhero like Shang-Chi who is the best fighter in the Marvel canon, and especially when he faces off against Mandarin in a kung fu showdown.
The Flavor of Phase Four
Thus far the major keyword of Phase Four has been “multiverse.” How will that element play out in this venture? The connection between Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is obvious, as are the connections between those movies and the MCU’s Disney+ shows Wandavision and Loki. How will Shang-Chi fit into this major thrust? Or would it sidestep it entirely? The inclusion of Wong is curious because it could signal some sort of connection to the events of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Perhaps Wong will be privy to some information or come to warn Shang-Chi of a growing threat? Shang-Chi is the first to premiere ahead of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, perhaps the danger those films face originates or is clued toward in this movie?
The MCU has already woven Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings into the fabric of its mega-franchise via very early nods, easter eggs and misdirects. It also has the opportunity to establish itself by being the harbinger of a new genre of Marvel movies, that of kung fu. How it will fit into the future of the MCU remains to be seen, specifically since the prime conflict Phase Four seems to be shaping toward is something involving the multiverse, a potentially different tone than what Shang-Chi is trying to go for.